Childminder in Worcestershire

Inspection report for early years provision

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204783 Unique Reference Number 12 October 2006 Inspection date Donna Stevens Inspector

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Childcare Type of inspection Childminding Type of care

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This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

The quality and standards of the care are outstanding. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The childminder has been registered since 1996. She lives with her husband and 2 of their children aged 16 and 13 in a house in Kidderminster. The whole of the ground floor is used for childminding, including the lounge, play room, kitchen and downstairs toilet. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. The family have a dog.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The childminder is registered to care for six children under the age of eight years, of whom no more than three may be under five years. She regularly attends carer and toddler groups for minded children and is a member of the National Childminders Association.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. Children's health is extremely well promoted as the childminder takes positive steps to promote the children's good health and encourages them to begin to take responsibility for meeting their own health needs. They automatically wash their hands after using the toilet, playing outside and before snack and mealtimes and understand why they need to do this. The childminder maintains high levels of hygiene during daily routines such as changing nappies ensuring that children are very well protected from illness and cross infection. There are good arrangements in place if children become unwell, need to be given medication or have an accident.

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Helping children to be healthy

The childminder has an excellent understanding of food and nutrition and she gives a high priority to ensuring that food provided for the children by their parents is correctly heated and served. She regularly updates her food handling training to ensure that children are always protected from food poisoning. Children learn about healthy eating as the childminder talks to them about the food they eat, encourages the eating of healthy snacks and involves them in baking activities where they learn how foods are changed when they are mixed together and cooked. Meal and snack times are sociable occasions where the adults and children sit together to enjoy the food and each other's company.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have extensive opportunities for physical exercise. They make regular trips to the nearby forest and parks. Here they enjoy opportunities to have walks, run around safely and freely and use climbing equipment. In the school holidays they take trips further afield to nearby beauty spots and nature reserves where they are able to get dirty, have fun and learn how to be safe in the outside world. They begin to understand how the cycle of nature works and how the environment around them changes with the seasons, for example by planting acorns and watching them grow.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. Children are cared for in a very clean, well maintained and safe home. The bright, colourful play room provides children with space to play freely and safely with the extensive range of resources available to them. Toys and equipment are of a very high standard and are continuously checked to ensure that they remain suitable and safe for children to play with.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are very well supervised at all times. Their safety is paramount and they are encouraged to be aware of the dangers around them such as fire safety and crossing the road. They learn to keep themselves safe by tidying up toys and having respect for each other and the toys and equipment that they use. The childminder constantly reinforces this by repeatedly explaining to children why it is important to keep themselves safe and praising them when they do so.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are very well protected from possible abuse or neglect. There is a clear up-to-date written policy that is understood by the childminder, regularly updated and shared with parents.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 The childminder insures that she attends training in this area regularly to refresh her awareness and to keep up-to-date with changes that may occur.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. Children take part in an excellent range of high-quality activities during their time with the childminder. Children are very confident and happy in the setting and in their relationship with the minder. Activities are planned for each day both in the home and at childminder activity groups but the childminder is also spontaneous, developing activities from things the children have seen and their own interests. For example, on the way to school one day the children observed several snails and this led to a day of making snails from play dough, drawing snails and learning about them. There is continuous positive interaction between the childminder and the children and the childminder is skilled at questioning the children to help expand their language and learning and allowing them to offer their own thoughts and opinions. The childminder has attended training in birth to three matters and the foundation stage and uses

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

both to plan activities to further improve the children's progress and achievements. The play room allows children to expand their play over several days, for example if they are building something from construction toys or make dens in their role play. These are left at the children's request so that they can continue their play over many days. This allows the children to extend their creativity, develop their imagination and become independent learners. These opportunities are extended outside the home into the garden and on regular outings and visits.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. Children are highly valued as individuals. They have extensive opportunities to develop positive attitudes to others and gain an excellent understanding about the wider world and community through access to an extensive range of playing resources which encourage positive images of culture, ethnicity and gender. Involvement in the sponsoring of a child in another country gives children the opportunity to understand the different ways of life the children of their own age may lead.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children behave extremely well. The childminder has very high expectations of them and instills in them from an early age respect for each other and good manners. As a result the children are kind to each other, polite and confident with the consistent boundaries that are used. They are continuously praised when they share, take turns and cooperate in their play. Age appropriate methods used to manage behaviour including calm explanations, the use of apologies and timeout allow children to learn the consequences of their actions on others.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is outstanding. Children benefit from close communication between parents and the childminder. Time is taken at the end of each day to share the children's experiences and the childminder uses a system of post-it notes to ensure that any important messages are passed on in writing as well as verbally. An extensive range of references from current and previous parents were full of praise for the level of care offered and the opportunities available to the children during their time in the setting.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. The childminder is very well organised and children benefit from this as they are able to enjoy a variety of activities and opportunities both in and out of the home. The play room is well laid out to provide children with plenty of room to play. Children are able to be independent, choosing their own toys and responding to the spontaneity of unplanned activities brought about by daily events or things they may see on their way to and from school.

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Organisation

Children's individual welfare, care and learning needs are very well met through the high-quality supporting documentation kept. All required records are kept up-to-date, confidentially stored, regularly reviewed and available to share with parents. Policies and procedures are of a very high standard and have been carefully thought out to reflect the excellent practice. Children benefit from the childminder's commitment to ongoing training which enables her to keep up-to-date with current ideas and continue to expand the range of opportunities available to the children. Overall the needs of all children who attend are met.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the childminder was asked to develop a complaints procedure for parents. This is now in place and copies are made available to parents.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National standards. The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

The quality and standards of the care are outstanding. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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The quality and standards of the care

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of care are outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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